After a (hopefully) adventurous spring break, it will be prime time to buckle down as spring semester ends and finals loom. This means the books really need to be cracked open, but those still in denial and in need for continued procrastination will welcome the spring crop of movies Hollywood is offering up. The pickings, while numerous, seem to be limited to the comedy and superhero/fantasy genres. Here’s a quick peek at what’s on my study-break list as the semester winds down.
Comedy: Two comedies stand out as worthy low-brow finds: “Neighbors” (May 9) and “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (May 30). “Neighbors” follows a charming couple, played by Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen, who are acclimating to parenthood when a fraternity house moves in next door. Zac Efron stars as the king of the frat boys. The snippets in the movie’s trailer seems similar to the humor and pranks of Rogen’s other films, such as “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” and “This is the End,” which, of course, amuse me. Another movie with similar debauchery and crude humor is Seth McFarlane’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” McFarlane stars, writes and directs this “western” with the assistance of hottie Charlize Theron, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson. Set in the late 1800s on the western frontier, McFarlane plays a man who simply wants to avoid dying when he starts wanting to impress a girl (Theron) by taking on the bad guy (Neeson). Sophomoric humor will be the perfect stress release, and foul-mouthed jokes will lighten spirits.
Superhero/Fantasy: There must be a lot of money in superhero movies because the rest of the semester leading up to graduation is filled with big budget movies with bigger, out-of-this-world heroes and monsters. Looking like he has had a round of steroids, Captain America returns in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (April 4) and faces off against a new crop of enemies in true Marvel sequel form. I am really interested in seeing what Robert Redford, the Sundance kid, can bring to the dark side of the Marvel Universe. The next superhero sequel is “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (May 2). I may not know much Spiderman trivia, but Peter Parker seems to have his hands full of villains. Actor big names like Paul Giamatti, Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper are reportedly sporting the evil capes. I don’t know much about the next sci-fi reboot, “Godzilla” (May 16), aside from the fact the famous monster gets another shot on the big screen and “Breaking Bad” chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-cooker Bryan Cranston sheds a few tears in the trailer. Maybe last summer’s “Pacific Rim” gave me hope that there actually can be a quality humans versus monsters movie, so I cautiously hope that “Godzilla” can be an entertaining terror on the world.
Rounding out the superhero genre is “X- Men: Days of Future Past” (May 23). Rumor of the “X-Men” follow-up came with the jaw-dropping teaser in the credits of last summer’s “The Wolverine,” which showed Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) reprising their roles. The newest “X-Men” movie brings together the characters from the original X-Men movies, and the X-men from the prequel “X-Men: First Class.” In some sort of weird time bending, the old and new will meet. This mash-up is difficult to wrap my brain around, and the trailer does little to clarify, but I still highly anticipate seeing all of my favorite characters on screen together again.
Though the above list is just a sampling of the movies coming out before graduation, they will all be available in Walla Walla to divert our attention from finals. Here’s to finishing the semester with big laughs, big budgets, big villains and even bigger heroes!+
